Christian Linder has achieved a lot politically and professionally: he is Federal Minister of Finance and FDP leader. Still, work doesn’t seem to be his top priority. Completely different things are “crucial in life,” says the politician in an interview. Love comes first.
Christian Lindner has been Federal Chairman of the FDP for almost ten years and has also been Federal Minister of Finance since the end of 2021. Hardly anyone would question the fact that this involves a lot of work. As a child, the politician “was taught a special joy of achievement,” he says in an interview with the “Bunte”. If you want something, you have to work hard for it. At the same time, work does not seem to be the most important thing in life for him.
In addition to all the work, he tries “to get some freedom. The head has to stay clear and contact with friends outside of politics has to be grounded.” The minister needs at least one evening a week “so that my wife and I can synchronize”. Lindner speaks of his wife Franca Lehfeldt. The two had married in the summer of 2022 on Sylt. They had first exchanged vows in front of family and friends, followed by a big wedding between the politician and the journalist. Among other things, Chancellor Olaf Scholz and CDU leader Friedrich Merz on site.
“The decisive factors in life are love, friendship, health and freedom,” is Lindner’s opinion. “They are things that cannot be bought.” For example, the time between Christmas and January 6 “really only belongs to friends and family”. Accordingly, he and his wife have been spending “the turn of the year with people who are dear to us on Sylt” for several years, which is “a place of longing” for them. There you can “laugh, eat, do sports” or even play board games.
Lindner sees his partner every day if possible, because the two are “not just a couple, but also best friends. It is my top priority to have time and attention for it. Love comes first.” When asked what was the happiest moment in his life, Lindner also replied that it was his marriage to Lehfeldt last July. And what about offspring? “We can well imagine children,” says the politician. However, the same principle applies to him here as in office: “announce less and deliver more”.
